Dunne: 'U's Need Experience'

Colchester United manager Joe Dunne has said after the U's latest defeat to Crawley that the side needs extra help and experience to try and stop the rot, with the 3-0 defeat on New Year's Day marking a seventh in succession.

Defeat to Doncaster on Saturday will equal the club's worst losing sequence of eight games set almost sixty years ago, and Dunne acknowledges that experience is required for what looks set to be a long fight against relegation.

'The plan has to be to bring in more help and more experience,' he told BBC Essex after that 3-0 reverse in West Sussex. 'Unfortunately, that costs a lot of money though which is the stumbling block.'

Dunne has already moved swiftly to bring in Jack Compton from Portsmouth as well as George Porter on loan from Burnley this month, and both came on as second-half substitutes in yesterday's defeat.

Despite both making good first impressions and presenting an indication of a future focus on fast, attacking football, it clearly wasn't the best scenario for the duo to make an initial mark on the side.

'Those two players coming in today only joined up with us yesterday, and it's been a difficult game to come into. Ideally, you'd like different circumstances.

'We're near to bringing a couple more in, but how close can you be? We'll have to see what we can do.'

One thing is for sure, it's set to be a busy month at the Weston Homes Community Stadium both in and out, with John-Joe O'Toole also linking up with John Ward for a month in his new role at Bristol Rovers.

January will prove vital in the U's bid to avoid the drop into League Two.